AM/FM BY CHRIS LIEBING

This week´s AM/FM is the second hour of a 4h Collabs live set, that Speedy J and myself played on June 3rd at the Weather Festival in Paris. I got to know Jochem Paap from Rotterdam aka Speedy J first time back in 2000 when I asked him to remix a track for me. Back then he has already been a legend for all of us, with his outstanding knowledge and ability of making amazing electronic music. Just check out his discography and it'll blow your mind. So after he agreed to do a remix for me, he also performed one of his super-energetic live sets at a monthly night I ran in a club in Frankfurt called the U60311. We started to be more in touch, and one time in Frankurt, when he played a live set before me and was just about to finish, I kind of started to mix into the end of his live act, which encouraged him to not stop and play along. As much as I remember we continued like this for about half an hour, and looking back, this was kind of our first Collabs set ever. From this moment on we started to do this more and more and also started thinking about some sort of new setup that would give us more potential to recreate music live together. At that time we kind of morphed my DJ set up with his live setup. When we were about to start our first little Collabs tour, which happened to be in Australia, we spend a whole night in an apartment in Melbourne, the day before the gig, trying to find the best way to connect all of our equipment. Since both of us worked with kind of the latest hardware and software provided by Native Instruments and Ableton back in the days, all this was quite adventurous, and looking back we learned a lot by doing this. Our individual setups today are essentially the follow-ups of these early developments. Working closely with Allen & Heath as well as Native Instruments during that time really started to push the limits of what we can do. I do remember our first "official" Collabs gig in Melbourne was quite fun and interesting... and also very sweaty and rock and roll. Maybe someone who was there back then reads this now, if so please report in the comments ;) I think that was around 2003 or 2004. Around 2005 we started working on an album, which was released in 2006 on Nova Mute. It is called Metalism, for those who might wanna check it out. 10 years ago, things were a little faster. Working together with Speedy J in his studio was an amazing journey for me, not only that I got to spend loads of time in Rotterdam, I also learned so much from him… and still do. After 2008/09 we played less Collabs gigs and concentrated more on our own brands. Jochem started his very innovative and successful label and party series Electric Deluxe. We still play Collabs shows, but only about 2-3 selected ones per year. Funny is that we have the feeling that our gigs get a better flow every time we play. Last year´s Awakenings Festival was definitely in our top 3 gigs ever. Keep an eye out on Electric Deluxe, `cause that set might be published there soon too. More Collabs gigs are in the planning, and who knows, maybe one day we sneak back into the studio and do a follow up to Metalism…. until then, I hope you enjoy these 4 Collabs episodes on AM/FM.

This week´s AM/FM is the first hour of a 4h Collabs live set, that Speedy J and myself played on June 3rd at the Weather Festival in Paris. I got to know Jochem Paap from Rotterdam aka Speedy J first time back in 2000 when I asked him to remix a track for me. Back then he has already been a legend for all of us, with his outstanding knowledge and ability of making amazing electronic music. Just check out his discography and it'll blow your mind. So after he agreed to do a remix for me, he also performed one of his super-energetic live sets at a monthly night I ran in a club in Frankfurt called the U60311. We started to be more in touch, and one time in Frankurt, when he played a live set before me and was just about to finish, I kind of started to mix into the end of his live act, which encouraged him to not stop and play along. As much as I remember we continued like this for about half an hour, and looking back, this was kind of our first Collabs set ever. From this moment on we started to do this more and more and also started thinking about some sort of new setup that would give us more potential to recreate music live together. At that time we kind of morphed my DJ set up with his live setup. When we were about to start our first little Collabs tour, which happened to be in Australia, we spend a whole night in an apartment in Melbourne, the day before the gig, trying to find the best way to connect all of our equipment. Since both of us worked with kind of the latest hardware and software provided by Native Instruments and Ableton back in the days, all this was quite adventurous, and looking back we learned a lot by doing this. Our individual setups today are essentially the follow-ups of these early developments. Working closely with Allen & Heath as well as Native Instruments during that time really started to push the limits of what we can do. I do remember our first "official" Collabs gig in Melbourne was quite fun and interesting... and also very sweaty and rock and roll. Maybe someone who was there back then reads this now, if so please report in the comments ;) I think that was around 2003 or 2004. Around 2005 we started working on an album, which was released in 2006 on Nova Mute. It is called Metalism, for those who might wanna check it out. 10 years ago, things were a little faster. Working together with Speedy J in his studio was an amazing journey for me, not only that I got to spend loads of time in Rotterdam, I also learned so much from him… and still do. After 2008/09 we played less Collabs gigs and concentrated more on our own brands. Jochem started his very innovative and successful label and party series Electric Deluxe. We still play Collabs shows, but only about 2-3 selected ones per year. Funny is that we have the feeling that our gigs get a better flow every time we play. Last year´s Awakenings Festival was definitely in our top 3 gigs ever. Keep an eye out on Electric Deluxe, `cause that set might be published there soon too. More Collabs gigs are in the planning, and who knows, maybe one day we sneak back into the studio and do a follow up to Metalism…. until then, I hope you enjoy these 4 Collabs episodes on AM/FM.

This week´s AM/FM is the recording of the second and last hour of my set on the Main Stage at Movement Detroit on Monday May 30th. I travelled to Detroit already on that Sunday straight from London and what a blast I had, hanging out on that festival that day without having to play. As I wasn’t aware of the full line up this year (sometimes I just don’t know…and been less online lately), I was very pleasantly surprised by all the people I ran into and got to hang out. Already checking in at the hotel met my good friend and amazing musician Guti, who invited me to the first beer and from that moment on it was all fun and games till late night/morning. Amongst having great times with Dubfire, Joseph Capriati, Moderat, Adam Beyer, Ellen Alien, Heidi, Hito, Tiga, Loco Dice, Matador and many more, I finally got to meet legendary DJ Pierre for the first time ever (some of you might have seen that moment during my set when he came on stage), who influences me till today with his wild pitch style since the early 90’s. Drinking tequila and having fun with Dave Smith and his lovely wife at his booth in the backstage also wasn’t helping to stay sober. So the Sunday already had set the mood for the Monday, which turned out to be equally exciting. I played right after John Digweed, starting before sunset and ended my set in darkness. Playing this Main Stage around this time is really something else, besides the great crowd, having these GM buildings in the background really constantly reminds you of that special place you are at. One of the birthplaces of Techno (as I believe there are many on the planet). What an honor to be there and play after all these years. Big thanks, of course next to everyone I met and saw, goes out to the Paxahau Crew who organize that whole thing. I know these guys since many years, they booked me to Detroit already over 15 years ago, when I slept in their basement (back then called the Paxahau Hotel). We have come a long way since then and they are still fully in there with their heart and passion. It is getting better year after year. Hope you enjoy the set as much as I did playing it….

This week´s AM/FM is the recording of the first hour of my set on the Main Stage at Movement Detroit on Monday May 30th. I travelled to Detroit already on that Sunday straight from London and what a blast I had, hanging out on that festival that day without having to play. As I wasn’t aware of the full line up this year (sometimes I just don’t know… and been less online lately), I was very pleasantly surprised by all the people I ran into and got to hang out. Already checking in at the hotel met my good friend and amazing musician Guti, who invited me to the first beer and from that moment on it was all fun and games till late night/morning. Amongst having great times with Dubfire, Joseph Capriati, Moderat, Adam Beyer, Ellen Alien, Heidi, Hito, Tiga, Loco Dice, Matador and many more, I finally got to meet legendary DJ Pierre for the first time ever (some of you might have seen that moment during my set when he came on stage), who influences me till today with his wild pitch style since the early 90’s. Drinking tequila and having fun with Dave Smith and his lovely wife at his booth in the backstage also wasn’t helping to stay sober. So the Sunday already had set the mood for the Monday, which turned out to be equally exciting. I played right after John Digweed, starting before sunset and ended my set in darkness. Playing this Main Stage around this time is really something else, besides the great crowd, having these GM buildings in the background really constantly reminds you of that special place you are at. One of the birthplaces of Techno (as I believe there are many on the planet). What an honor to be there and play after all these years. Big thanks, of course next to everyone I met and saw, goes out to the Paxahau Crew who organize that whole thing. I know these guys since many years, they booked me to Detroit already over 15 years ago, when I slept in their basement (back then called the Paxahau Hotel). We have come a long way since then and they are still fully in there with their heart and passion. It is getting better year after year. Hope you enjoy the set as much as I did playing it….

New York, New York! One of my favourite cities in the world and how happy am I, to always be welcomed there. I can almost call it a second home by now. This week´s AM/FM show is the recording of the second hour of my set that I played at EDC NY and the second half is a B2B with my good friend Nicole Moudaber on May 15th. It was my first EDC NY appearance and the stage I played was hosted by Nicole. I arrived straight from Mexico City with little sleep, but getting on the stage right next to Citi Field Stadium and seeing such an amazing crowd having it to her set, fully energised and recharged me. I played a 90 min set first (which quickly proved to be loads of fun) and for the last hour, Nicole joined me for our first ever back to back set. We didn't really have a plan (do b2b DJs have plans actually?) and Nicole asked me how we should do this. I just said, I finish my set with a kick drum running, you mix something into that and then we see. I think it pretty much clicked immediately and the last hour was just an intense ride. Hope that comes across a little in the recording. If you are listening to AM/FM on a radio station, then you will miss the last half hour of our b2b set (due to the one hour show format), but no worries, you can download the full thing on my website, once it is out. But that wasn't all really. After Nicole and I finished at 11 pm, I went over to my beloved Output Club in Brooklyn to play the after hour for another 5h. And let me use the chance here to say a big thanks again, to all the people who came out that night, to EDC and Output. It was intense, even more than ever before, it was great, it was another amazing ride with you. Looking forward to be back in July for Hyte. NYC, EDC, Nicole, Output and all of you enjoying the music, thank you once more….

New York, New York! One of my favourite cities in the world and how happy am I, to always be welcomed there. I can almost call it a second home by now. This week´s AM/FM show is the recording of the first hour of my set that I played at EDC NY on May 15th. It was my first EDC NY appearance, and the stage I played was hosted by our good friend Nicole Moudaber. I arrived straight from Mexico City with little sleep, but getting on the stage right next to Citi Field Stadium and seeing such an amazing crowd having it to Nicole´s Set, fully energised and recharged me. I played a 90 min set first (which quickly proved to be loads of fun) and for the last hour, Nicole joined me for our first ever back to back set. We didn't really have a plan (do b2b DJs actually have plans?) and Nicole asked me how we should do this. I just said: “I finish my set with a kick drum running and you mix something into that and then we see…” I think it pretty much clicked immediately and the last hour was just an intense ride. Hope that comes across a little in the recording. If you are listening to AM/FM on a radio station, then you will miss the last half hour of your b2b set (due to the one hour show format), but no worries, you can download the full thing on my website, once it is out. But that wasn't all really. After Nicole and I finished at 11 pm, I went over to my beloved Output Club in Brooklyn to play the after hour for another 5h. And let me use the chance here to say a big thanks again, to all the people who came out that night, to EDC and Output. It was intense, even more than ever before, it was great, it was another amazing ride with you. Looking forward to be back in July for HYTE. NYC, EDC, Nicole, Output and all of you enjoying the music, thank you once more….

And we are back in Italy! This week´s AM/FM is the recording of the second and last hour of a two hours set that I played at the First Festival in Genova´s 105 Stadium. So as you can see, not really a club gig, but in front of once again an amazing crowd that really knows the music. One of the reasons (besides it being another amazing night in Italy, Grazie Mille ;)) I chose this session for AM/FM is, that on this weekend I felt for the first time that I started to use my new @playdifferently mixer at a new level. Been playing with the mixer for a while now, but for this weekend I changed my setup in a way that I was able to use all channels (8 in total). I was not sure if this would be too much to handle, but it turned out easier than I thought and opened up a whole new world of possibilities. You always have to take time to get used to a new piece of equipment. I kind of see my setup as an instrument, that I have been fine-tuning over the years and adding a new mixer of course requires some new learning time. In Genova it felt like it was all coming together nicely for the first time really. It added another level of excitement for me. Not sure if you can hear it on the recording, but I had so much fun. Well again, you will be the judge. We are slowly entering the summer season now and with my new setup I feel more ready than ever before. New and exciting times with an amazing new central piece of equipment, that will hopefully make all our musical journeys together even more exciting. Now that you have both parts you could put them together in a playlist and listen to the whole set with seamless transitions. Hope you enjoy!

And we are back in Italy! This week´s AM/FM is the recording of the first hour of a two hours set that I played at the First Festival in Genova´s 105 Stadium. So as you can see, not really a club gig, but in front of once again an amazing crowd that really knows the music. One of the reasons (besides it being another amazing night in Italy, Grazie Mille ;)) I chose this session for AM/FM is, that on this weekend I felt for the first time that I started to use my new @playdifferently mixer at a new level. Been playing with the mixer for a while now, but for this weekend I changed my setup in a way that I was able to use all channels (8 in total). I was not sure if this would be too much to handle, but it turned out easier than I thought and opened up a whole new world of possibilities. You always have to take time to get used to a new piece of equipment. I kind of see my setup as an instrument, that I have been fine-tuning over the years and adding a new mixer of course requires some new learning time. In Genova it felt like it was all coming together nicely for the first time really. It added another level of excitement for me. Not sure if you can hear it on the recording, but I had so much fun. Well again, you will be the judge. We are slowly entering the summer season now and with my new setup I feel more ready than ever before. New and exciting times with an amazing new central piece of equipment, that will hopefully make all our musical journeys together even more exciting. Hope you enjoy!

This week´s set is the fourth and last hour of 4 hours that I played at one of the most prolific, relevant and fun clubs in Italy (which basically means in the world, as Italy is the country with the biggest history of clubs, or as I like to say with an over 2000 years long history of running events and parties). Il Muretto is in Jesolo, near Venice and every time it is quite an experience to be there, not to mention to play there. This date was not any different, or wait, somehow it was, as I felt that in all the years I played there, I seem to get to know the club better and better, and that leads to an even more intense experience every time. This was maybe the biggest night I played there yet and I am happy to realize that I continue to say that after each gig at Il Muretto. Maybe this time it was due to the fact I had a 6h tattoo session the day before or because it was Easter Sunday and my 4th gig in a row after coming back to Europe from Miami and LA?! No matter what made it so amazing again, I can only say Grazie Mille over and over again for those good times in Italy! I hope you enjoy these 4h, and now that you have all the four separate parts, you could also put them together in a playlist and listen to the whole set with seamless transitions.

This week´s set is the third hour of 4 hours that I played at one of the most prolific, relevant and fun clubs in Italy (which basically means in the world, as Italy is the country with the biggest history of clubs, or as I like to say with an over 2000 years long history of running events and parties). Il Muretto is in Jesolo, near Venice and every time it is quite an experience to be there, not to mention to play there. This date was not any different, or wait, somehow it was, as I felt that in all the years that I played there, I seem to get to know the club better and better, and that leads to an even more intense experience every time. This was maybe the biggest night I played there yet and I am happy to realize that I continue to say that after each gig at Il Muretto. Maybe this time it was due to the fact I had a 6h tattoo session the day before or because it was Easter Sunday and my 4th gig in a row after coming back to Europe from Miami and LA?! No matter what made it so amazing again, I can only say Grazie Mille over and over again for those good times in Italy! Hope you enjoy these 4h.

This week´s set is the second hour of 4 hours that I played at one of the most prolific, relevant and fun clubs in Italy (which basically means in the world, as Italy is the country with the biggest history of clubs, or as I like to say with an over 2000 years long history of running events and parties). Il Muretto is in Jesolo, near Venice and every time it is quite an experience to be there, not to mention to play there. This date was not any different, or wait, somehow it was, as I felt that in all the years that I played there, I seem to get to know the club better and better, and that leads to an even more intense experience every time. This was maybe the biggest night I played there yet and I am happy to realize that I continue to say that after each gig at Il Muretto. Maybe this time it was due to the fact I had a 6h tattoo session the day before or because it was Easter Sunday and my 4th gig in a row after coming back to Europe from Miami and LA?! No matter what made it so amazing again, I can only say Grazie Mille over and over again for those good times in Italy! Hope you enjoy these 4h.

This week´s set is the first hour of 4 hours that I played at one of the most prolific, relevant and fun clubs in Italy (which basically means in the world, as Italy is the country with the biggest history of clubs, or as I like to say with an over 2000 years long history of running events and parties). Il Muretto is in Jesolo, near Venice and every time it is quite an experience to be there, not to mention to play there. This date was not any different, or wait, somehow it was, as I felt that in all the years that I played there, I seem to get to know the club better and better, and that leads to an even more intense experience every time. This was maybe the biggest night I played there yet and I am happy to realize that I continue to say that after each gig at Il Muretto. Maybe this time it was due to the fact I had a 6h tattoo session the day before or because it was Easter Sunday and my 4th gig in a row after coming back to Europe from Miami and LA?! No matter what made it so amazing again, I can only say Grazie Mille over and over again for those good times in Italy! Hope you enjoy these 4h.

This week´s AM/FM is the eighth and last hour that I played at the night of World League at Bob Beaman Club in Munich on the 29th of January 2016, where I was booked to play an open to close set. I had never been to the club before, so I didn't really know what to expect, especially how intimate and cosy it would be. I do love to open a night and set the tone for the rest, especially when I can also play the rest ;). I already noticed in the very beginning that it would be quite a night, as the sound system, the layout and the crowd of the club were a perfect combination. I am used to playing longer sets in Munich, as I have done that many times before in the past 20 years that I have played in this city, but this one somehow topped all the other ones before. The night was supposed to end at 6, but I continued till past 8 and I basically only stopped because I managed to kill the amps of the monitoring system at the end, and to me that was kind of a sign that it was all said and done. I was happy, the people were happy and we all left with a smile. Now that you have all the eight separate parts, you could also put them together in a playlist and listen to the whole set with seamless transitions. I hope you will enjoy the trip as much as I did. Thank you World League and Bob Beaman Club and all of the amazing people who showed up for that memorable night.

This week´s AM/FM is the seventh hour that I played at the night of World League at Bob Beaman Club in Munich on the 29th of January 2016, where I was booked to play an open to close set. I had never been to the club before, so I didn't really know what to expect, especially how intimate and cosy it would be. I do love to open a night and set the tone for the rest, especially when I can also play the rest ;). I already noticed in the very beginning that it would be quite a night, as the sound system, the layout and the crowd of the club were a perfect combination. I am used to playing longer sets in Munich, as I have done that many times before in the past 20 years that I have played in this city, but this one somehow topped all the other ones before. The night was supposed to end at 6, but I continued till past 8 and I basically only stopped because I managed to kill the amps of the monitoring system at the end, and to me that was kind of a sign that it was all said and done. I was happy, the people were happy and we all left with a smile. So all in all the set will be covered by 1h pieces in 8 weeks right here. I hope you will enjoy the trip as much as I did. Thank you World League and Bob Beaman Club and all of the amazing people who showed up for that memorable night.

This week´s AM/FM is the sixth hour that I played at the night of World League at Bob Beaman Club in Munich on the 29th of January 2016, where I was booked to play an open to close set. I had never been to the club before, so I didn't really know what to expect, especially how intimate and cosy it would be. I do love to open a night and set the tone for the rest, especially when I can also play the rest ;). I already noticed in the very beginning that it would be quite a night, as the sound system, the layout and the crowd of the club were a perfect combination. I am used to playing longer sets in Munich, as I have done that many times before in the past 20 years that I have played in this city, but this one somehow topped all the other ones before. The night was supposed to end at 6, but I continued till past 8 and I basically only stopped because I managed to kill the amps of the monitoring system at the end, and to me that was kind of a sign that it was all said and done. I was happy, the people were happy and we all left with a smile. So all in all the set will be covered by 1h pieces in 8 weeks right here. I hope you will enjoy the trip as much as I did. Thank you World League and Bob Beaman Club and all of the amazing people who showed up for that memorable night.